JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Cyril Ramaphosa, elected leader of South Africa's ruling African National Congress in a tight race on Monday, now faces the daunting task of uniting a starkly divided party and reviving the tarnished reputation of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement.
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, takes a selfie after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, reacts after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa reacts after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 file photo, South African Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, laughs at President Jacob Zuma, right, at the start of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) elective conference in Johannesburg. South Africa's ruling African National Congress has elected Cyril Ramaphosa as its new president on Monday, Dec. 18, making the nation's deputy president likely to become the country's next head of state (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
South African President, Jacob Zuma, back, and front-runner to become the next African National Congress (ANC) leader, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, front, attend the second day of the ANC elective conference in Johannesburg, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017. The vote to choose the next president of South Africa's ruling ANC party got underway after disputes over the credentials of party delegates, highlighting the bitter fight within Nelson Mandela's historic liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, right, is congratulated after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Outgoing ANC president and South African President Jacob Zuma, looks on after the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, was announced president at the elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Outgoing ANC president and South African President Jacob Zuma, raises his cap after it was announced that Cyril Ramaphosa had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, right, next to outgoing president Jacob Zuma, after it was announced that he had won the vote at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former wife of President Jacob Zuma, reacts after losing out to the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former wife of President Jacob Zuma, reacts after losing out to the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the ANC's elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing President Jacob Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Outgoing ANC president and South African President Jacob Zuma, reacts after the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President, Cyril Ramaphosa was announced president at the elective conference in Johannesburg, Monday Dec. 18, 2017. Outgoing Zuma's second and final term as party leader has ended after a scandal-ridden tenure that has seen a plummet in the popularity of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The 65-year-old Ramaphosa, the country's current deputy president, beat former African Union commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma by a margin of less than 200 votes. As the head of the ANC, Ramaphosa will be the party's candidate for president in 2019 elections, which he is widely expected to win.
Ramaphosa has had an extraordinary career both inside and outside of South Africa's political arena. He has moved from being a prominent anti-apartheid activist and one of the chief negotiators who helped bring an end to white minority rule to becoming one of the wealthiest businessmen in South Africa.
In the run-up to this contest, he styled himself as a reformer who will steer South Africa away from the corruption scandals that have hurt the economy and spooked investors.
"Clearly, Ramaphosa has been the darling of the business community," said Daniel Silke, an independent political analyst. As the party's new leader, he said, Ramaphosa will be seen as attempting to "revive prudent policy-making in South Africa" and "stabilize the creaky ship of the South African economy."
That is no small task. South Africa's economy dipped into recession this year, rebounding to 2.5 percent growth in the second quarter. Unemployment is rampant, hovering close to 30 percent, and the country is rated one of the most unequal societies in the world, where the top 10 percent of earners received 66 percent of the national income, according to the 2018 World Inequality Report.
Ramaphosa also inherits a party that has been riven by corruption scandals during President Jacob Zuma's tenure, cutting into the organization's clout among South African voters and creating stark rifts within Mandela's liberation movement.
The ANC, which marked its 105th anniversary this year, fought to end apartheid and has dominated the political landscape since then. But it has been paralyzed by internal fighting and is losing support among voters who are frustrated that it has failed to deliver on the promise of a post-apartheid government. In recent local government elections, the ANC lost control of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, and Pretoria, the capital.
Given the narrow margin of his win, Ramaphosa will have to work hard to unite his supporters and the backers of Dlamini-Zuma, who is the ex-wife of outgoing ANC leader Zuma, if the party is to rally and regain ground in the upcoming national elections in 2019.
Though Zuma's term as ANC leader is now over, his term as South Africa's head of state ends with the 2019 vote. It is not clear if Ramaphosa, as the ANC's new leader, will call on Zuma to resign as the country's president sooner, which the party has the authority to do.
Some observers said that is the move he's likely to make in order to put the party in the best electoral position in two years' time. "There's a shared consensus that (Zuma) is a liability," says Mcebisi Ndletyana, a politics professor at University of Johannesburg.
Though Ramaphosa has been part of Zuma's administration, he has managed to steer clear of the corruption allegations that have dogged some of his colleagues and create enough distance between himself and the besmirched Zuma to not be perceived as part of the problem.
Ramaphosa's win "will be a confidence bounce," says William Gumede, executive chairman of Democracy Works Foundation. "Not just among markets, but among ordinary people."